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WEATHER WATCH

The Cloud Cookbook

How Clouds Affect Weather

Before we actually begin cooking up a storm, we need to know something about
our "ingredients", how to measure them, and how to mix them together.

In these experiments you will be simulating real weather processes
in your classroom using some of the same constituents ("ingredients")
as in the natural world. Your experiments will model the real world
in much the same way that atmospheric scientists do.

Also, it's good to know a little more about what a cloud is before
starting the lab. A cloud is not made up of water vapor. You can't
see water vapor, but you can see clouds. A cloud is made
up of ice or liquid water that has formed from the water vapor that's
always a part of the air you breathe. There are a lot of
different types of clouds, some will
rain on you, some will snow on you, some you may not even notice on
a hot summer day. Take a few minutes and look at the
wide variety of
of clouds, some of which you should recognize, and
how they are formed.

Have you ever been on a plane and flown through
a cloud? What did it look like from the ground? Did it look
different when you flew through it? Think about sometime when it
was very foggy outside. Did you know you were inside a cloud without
ever leaving the ground?

IT'S LAB TIME!

The first 3 experiments you are going to do will help you to
discover how clouds are formed and of what they are made.